Pirated programs cause problems for users, industry

Kim Komando writes Spam advertisements hawking popular software titles at bargain-basement prices are flooding the Internet. More often than not, the software is counterfeit.
In the early days, counterfeit software was created by a few hackers. Today, global organized crime gangs have taken over the business, according to testimony given by Richard C. LaMagna to Congress in 2003. LaMagna is senior manager of worldwide anti-piracy investigations for Microsoft. He says criminal groups ó mostly in Asia ó are using sophisticated methods to create software nearly identical to the real thing. (full story)